Mississippi reported early Tuesday that more than 16,000 new COVID-19 coronavirus cases were found over the weekend, breaking another 14-day record for new cases.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Monday that 16,484 new coronavirus cases were found on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The state health department had planned to release the data on Monday following its usual schedule but said the overwhelming amount of data caused delays.

In the last two weeks, a staggering 70,471 cases have been officially logged, though the number is likely much higher due to at-home tests typically not being reported to the state health department.  To put the rapid spread in perspective,  in the last 14 days approximately 1 in every 42 Mississippians has tested positive for the virus.

The additional cases reported Tuesday morning brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 603,031.

Fortunately, so far at least, health experts say the number of hospitalizations from this wave has been less than feared but is still growing rapidly.

Through Sunday, 1,093 patients were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, the state health department reported. By comparison at the beginning of December less than 200 COVID patients were hospitalized.

MSDH reported 16 new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 10,543.

Through Monday, 49 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians remains below the U.S. average of 62 percent.

For more detailed county-by-county vaccination results visit: https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/12130.pdf

The 7-day, daily average of new cases dipped slightly early Tuesday to 5,967.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose sharply to 5,034 with Tuesday’s update. It was another new all-time high.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County